The thing they called Love
by animeisheart
Summary: Karma finally wants to ask Manami out on a date so he asks Nagisa and Kayano's help. Karmanami and a hint of Nagikae! 3 Karma Akabane X Manami Okuda and a little Nagisa Shiota X Kayano Kaede
1. Chapter 1

Manami Okuda adjusted her eyeglasses as she carefully tilted a test tube and added its contents to a large beaker. She was cautious enough not to spill any of it. She worked cautiously and silently inside the science laboratory.

"And there you have it. We now have hydrocyanic acid!" she proudly announced as she turned her attention to a certain red-haired boy who is seated next to hers at the laboratory.

Karma Akabane snapped out of his gaze as soon as he realized that a certain braided girl was looking closely at her. He almost fell to his chair when he noticed that their faces are a few inches away.

"Karma-kun! Are you alright?" Manami asked, concerned can be noticed in her voice.

"I'm fine, Okuda-san," Karma said as he regained his composure.

"You seemed to be in a daze. Do you have fever?" Manami asked. Karma shook his head in response.

"I'm fine. Really. Sorry I wasn't able to help you. I'll just store the chemical in a safe place. We'll use that for our next plans," he said while showing a genuine smile to the girl.

After cleaning the glasswares that they used and storing the chemical in a safe cabinet, they started walking home since it will soon be dark. While they were walking on the way home, Manami told Karma about her assassination plats and she noticed that Karma was a bit not himself. His face red and he can't look straight at Manami's eyes like he usually does.

"Karma-kun, y-you seem absentminded," Manami said, hoping to break Karma's uneasiness.

"Hmm? I'm not." Karma replied, trying to act natural when in fact, he really is. Manami have lots to tell him but their walk is over since her house is near. Before going inside her house, she said thanks and good bye to Karma. Still, she can still see that Karma is very uneasy. She wondered what could possibly be the reason for that but she didn't further ask the prankster anymore.

Karma was left on his home as he walk home. It was only a few blocks from Manami's house so he got home after five minutes. He entered his room and lay down on his soft bed. He stared at the ceiling and he remembered the bespectacled girl's happy reaction whenever they got successful in their experiments. He remembered how she got upset whenever things failed. He remembered her mannerism of tapping the desk with her finger when she's uncomfortable, her way of adjusting her eyeglasses, her stuttering, and every minor detail that she does. Suddenly, Karma noticed that his face turned red.

"What's wrong with me!?" Karma said as he sat on his bed, blushing more. He finally admitted to himself that he likes Manami Okuda. First, he thought that he liked her for her chemistry skills but it was more than that. He didn't notice earlier that he has a crush on her already.

"Should I ask her out on a date?" Karma asked himself.

The next day, Karma texted Nagisa to help him out. Nagisa has no clue on what the problem is but he replied that he's willing to help his close friend. They met at a coffee shop afterwards to discuss the matter. Nagisa was the first one to arrive and waited for Karma to arrive. Nagisa cheerfully greeted his friend and they both ordered their coffees. They chat for a while on random stuffs until their orders arrived and they were enjoying their coffees when Karma went to the main agenda.

"Nagisa, I was actually planning on asking Okuda-san out on a date. But I don't know how," Karma said while lightly stirring his coffee. Nagisa almost chocked himself with the coffee that he was about to drink. He coughed a little and when he was alright, he spoke in response.

"That was your problem? I was worried when you sent me that text message yesterday. It sounded like you were in grave danger!"

"But I am! I don't want to ruin our friendship so I've always hesitated to ask her out," Karma replied.

"Okay. Fine. So how may I help you?" Nagisa asked.

"Ask Okuda-san if she likes me too."

"WHAAAAAAT?! That's too dangerous! Don't you know that when Terasaka-kun asked her with that question that she almost spilled sulfuric acid all over his face!"

"It doesn't matter. Terasaka is too dumb to tease her like that. Wait, when did that actually happen? I don't know that," Karma asked, feeling amused on how dumb Terasaka is.

"Oh, you're probably skipped classes at that time. Well, Okuda-san was just minding her own business when Terasaka-kun randomly started annoying her. The last thing that he did was ask Okuda-san if she like you. Okuda-san is really, really scary when she's pissed off."

"That's why I asked for your help. You seemed nice to her so she's probably going to answer you nicely."

"Karma, that's girl talk."

"So?"

"I'm not a girl! Besides, we're not that close. She's probably will going to be embarrassed if I ask her that out of the blue."

They got silent for a moment when a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Then I'll help out!" said the voice enthusiastically.

The boys turned around to face whoever said that.

"Kayano! You were here, too?" Nagisa asked.

"Hehehe. I was actually going to the bookstore when I saw you entered the coffee shop so I followed you here. I was seated at the next couch so I overheard your conversation," Kayano explained.

"You followed him? Does that mean that Kayano-chan is stalking Nagisa? Or are you curious if Nagisa is dating a girl?" Karma teased the green-haired girl. Both Nagisa and Kayano blushed.

"No! You got it wrong! Kayano will never do that!" Nagisa said defensively. Kayano nodded while looking away as her face was red as Karma's hair. But she admitted to herself that Karma's very smart to quickly figure out that she got curious if Nagisa is seeing a girl so she spied on him.

"Anyway! You were saying that you wanted to know if Manami-chan likes you too, right?" Kayano asked as she regained her composure. Karma nodded, a bit blushing from the topic.

Kayano began being confident. "Consider yourself lucky because you're talking to her closest female friend!~ "

"Now that you mention it, Kayano and Okuda-san seem to get along really, really well" Nagisa said.

"So? Have you talked about me before?" Karma asked.

"I asked her back then who she likes but she didn't respond. She got a bit nervous and that's when I asked if she likes you, Karma" Kayano replied. The boys waited for the continuation.

"Well, Manami-chan said that she's comfortable when you're around. It's a bit an off-track answer but at least she appreciates you."

 _Girls' emotions are too difficult to comprehend_ , the boys thought.

"But don't worry. I'll ask her tomorrow!" With that, Kayano left the two, saying that she has an errand to do.

"I'm kinda surprised that things like this trouble you a lot, Karma," Nagisa said.

"Yeah. I noticed that I'm not my usual self and it's troubling me. So this is the thing they called love, huh?" Karma replied as he smirked. "Anyway, if ever things turned out as planned, help me in preparing for the date, will you?"

"Sure thing!" Nagisa said and smiled, knowing that Karma is being real with his emotions.

It was Friday morning when Kayano asked Manami about it. Only less than five people were in the room when Kayano asked Manami if she can accompany her in going to the bathroom. When they opened the door, Karma was also about to enter the room. Karma was caught off-guard. Nagisa told him to be early tomorrow and this is what happens.

"G-good morning, Karma-kun!" Manami greeted as she was being dragged by Kayano to the girls' CR.

While they were there, Kayano pretended to fix her hair so that they will have time to be there to talk privately.

"It's very unusual for Karma to arrive early, isn't?" Kayano said, starting the topic.

"Y-yeah. He's usually late for 17 minutes in morning classes," Manami replied. Kayano made a sheepish smile, trying to tease Manami.

"You're quite a keen observer, Manami-chan! I'm sensing love!~"

"I-it's not like th-that. I-I just noticed b-because…." There was a long pause.

"Because?"

"…" And Manami's face turned bright red.

"Hehehe. Manami-chan, you do like Karma, right?" Kayano asked. Manami's face turned a brighter shade of red.

"Kayano-chan, s-stop teasing me!"

"Well, do you?"

"Kayano-chan!"

"I won't stop teasing you until I get an answer~" Kayano said as she took a photo of Manami's blushing face, teasing the bespectacled girl more.

"Wha-what for? D-delete that, Kayano-chan. Please!" Manami exclaimed as she reached for Kayano's phone.

"Well, you always avoided that question and I'm just dying to know the truth. I'll delet this if you admit the truth. Or else I'll send this picture to, hmmmm… Okajima?"

Manami panicked. ' _Not to the class pervert!',_ she thought. Manami nodded in response.

"I do like him. B-but p-please, don't t-tell anyone about it!" Manami replied shyly.

"Alright then!" Kayano smiled cutely as she deleted the photo.

Once they returned to the classroom, Kayano signaled Karma and Nagisa that the plan was successful. They boys were relieved and Nagisa noticed that Karma blushed a little. He giggled.

"Stop laughing at me or else I'll ask Nakamura-san to dress you up in a maid costume." Karma threatened his friend. Nagisa felt chills just by imagining it so he stopped giggling.

"Okay, I will."

"Well, do you have any suggestions on how I will ask her out?"

"Geez, just be yourself and ask her out. That's just how Sugino-kun asked Kanzaki-san"

"Okay then."

Later after class, Karma and Manami were alone in the Science Laboratory since they were mixing the hydrocyanic acid in a box of chocolate that they will send later to Koro-sensei. There was an awkward silence and it's killing them. Karma remembered Nagisa's advice to just be himself so he finally broke the silence,

"Okuda-san, do you want to go out with me?"

Manami almost dropped the beaker that she's holding.

"G-g-go out? Y-you mean a d-d-date?"

"Yep." Karma said as he played with his anti-sensei knife.

"S-s-sure." Manami said as she blushed heavily.

"Okay then. It's settled. That would be on Sunday," Karma said as he smiled genuinely while blushing a little.

"E-eh? Th-that's two days from now."

Karma chuckled. "Don't' worry. Nagisa-kun said that Kayano-chan will help you if you agreed."

"S-so that's why you were so out of character for the past days and that's why she asked me that earlier," Manami mumbled to herself

"Hmm? What was that?"

"N-nothing. I'm l-looking forward on our d-date, Karma-kun," Manami said as she smiled.

 _'So this is the thing they called love, huh'_ she thought to herself as she involuntarily blushed while busily working with Karma.


	2. Chapter 2

"K-Kayano-chan, w-what sh-should I do?" Manami asked her friend as she lay down on her bed.

"Don't worry Manami-chan. Oh, you're not worrying. It's more like panicking. Panicking will only ruin your day with Karma so calm down" Kayano replied with much enthusiasm in her tone.

"B-but… I've never been to date before," Manami sighed. "M-Maybe I should just cancel later's-"

"Stop! Don't! I told you I'll help you, okay? So just relax and wait for me there," Kayano replied with much assurance to her friend that everything will be fine. Manami took a deep breath and finally agreed to Kayano.

Manami Okuda sat on her bed as she waited for her green-haired friend to arrive at her house. She's supposed to be ecstatic since the person whom she admired the most finally asked her out on a date but right now she's in a state panic for she doesn't know what to do. She's never been an expert in dating and romance.

After half an hour, Kayano Kaede finally arrived at Manami's apartment. Since Manami lived alone, Kayano felt at home upon arriving. She removed her coat and sit comfortably at the couch while enjoying the cozy atmosphere at the living room. Manami offered her friend a cup of tea and pudding which the visitor gladly accepted. After Kayano finished her pudding, she finally sat up straight and proceeded to their main agenda.

"Okay Manami-chan, have you decided on what to wear later? I'm sure you do when you texted me last night." Kayano asked as she sipped on her tea.

"Y-yeah. I guess so. Ah wait, I'll show them to you," Manami replied as she hurriedly went upstairs to get the clothes that she's planning to wear. "This," Manami said as she showed Kayano a white blouse and a checkered skirt. Kayano raised her eyebrow.

"Rejected!"

"Ehhh? Why? I thought of it carefully," Manami protested.

"Too plain." was all Kayano said as she went upstairs, "Can I see your wardrobe? Let me choose your clothes," she added. Manami didn't manage to nod her head since Kayano was already in her room.

Kayano was sorting among piles of clothes. Still, she hasn't decided on anything yet. It started worrying Manami since she might be stressing her friend into helping her out.

"Okay. We're going to a boutique." Kayano said as she finally gave up in choosing the best among the best clothing combination that she arranged.

"Ehh? But what about the time?" Manami asked.

"We still have plenty of time so don't ever worry."

Manami was dragged by Kayano to a fashion boutique. Kayano grabbed a few clothing and eventually dragged Manami into the fitting room.

"Here. Try them all. Oh and don't worry, I'll pay. I just want to buy my closest friend a perfect clothing for her first date!~" Kayano said. After trying every clothing that Kayano suggested, they finally got the perfect dress for Manami. It's a purple sleeveless dress with collars and lacy designs.

"It looks perfect on you!" Kayano said cheerfully. Manami nodded cheerfully as well. "And that flats would perfectly match this," Manami added.

"Woah! I'm surprised you're sense of fashion immediately improved!" Kayano said as she started teasing her.

"But I'll pay for the dress and shoes. You've helped me already," Manami said with a bit stern look on her face. Kayano knew that whenever Manami makes that face, arguing with her is impossible so she just nodded slowly.

"Next store is the eyewear shop!" Kayano gladly announced as they stepped out of fashion shop.

"I'm fine with my eyeglasses!" Manami protested again.

"No eyeglasses later," Kayano replied as she smirked a little. She knew that it's her victory this time. She was able to convince Manami to use a colorless contact lense. Afterwards, they went to Manami's house so that they can plan for her hairstyle and a little make-up.

"It's good to be home!~" Kayano said and immediately lay down on the couch. "Oh, I mean, good to be back at Manami-chan's home." Manami giggled for she knew that her friend really felt comfortable at her own home.

"Kayano-chan, I know that you'll force me to put make up, b-but please, I will only allow light make-up, o-okay?" Manami said calmly as she opened the fridge to give Kayano a strawberry cake.

"Sure. I dislike putting too much make-ups. It destroys your skin," Kayano said as she sat properly.

"By the way, I already planned on your hairstyle," she added.

"R-really? Th-that was fast," Manami commented.

"Here," Kayano said as she showed the picture of a model having that same hairstyle to Manami. It was a loose half ponytail with the ends of the hair in a wavy manner.

"I-I like it!"

After they have rested, Kayano started gathering the things that they bought and prepared Manami for the awaited event. After hours, nerdy girl was transformed into a goddess. She looked so perfect in that purple dress while wearing a simple flats, transparent contact lenses, and light make-up. The hairstyle that Kayano chose suited her well.

"That's it! You're ready for your date. Now remember, just relax, enjoy each other's company, and be youself. Being yourself is the most important, okay?" Kayano said as she took a picture of Manami.

After a few minutes, Manami and Kayano heard a knock on the door. Kayano volunteered to open the door. There stood in front was Karma and Nagisa.

"Hey guys! She's ready!~"

"She's gorgeous," was all Karma could say as he saw a goddess-like Manami. He can't help but blush as he smiled at her.

Kayano finally called to Manami so she can meet her date, Karma Akabane who perfectly matched her clothing with his jeans, polo, and shoes.

"You guys look adorable!" Kayano commented.

"Yeah. They matched perfectly," Nagisa added. Manami and Karma smiled at the two.

"Well, we'll head out then," Manami replied. "Thank you so much Kayano-chan!" Kayano nodded and smiled.

"Enjoy your date!" Kayano and Nagisa exclaimed as the four of them left Manami's house. The blue-haired boy and the green-haired girl went ahead.

"So, I bet Karma also asked for your help," Kayano guessed.

"You guessed it right. But he wasn't nervous at all. He asked for a great restaurant and asked for my recommendations for amusement parks. He didn't ask me on what he should wear though. I guess his clothes matched hers," Nagisa replied. Kayano chuckled.

"At least their clothes matched. Unlike ours," Kayano replied as they started giggling, remembering how funny their first date was.

"Well, want to have dinner?" Nagisa asked as he blushed a little. Kayano replied with a nod as her face turned to a light shade of red.

"This is really the thing they called Love," Kayano said as they both giggled.

Author's note: Okay. This is supposed to be a one-shot but some of you requested for another chapter ;)


	3. Chapter 3

"So where do you want to go?" Karma asked Manami as he turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.

"Y-you decide on that. A-anywhere's fine," Manami replied as she slightly blush. She was panicking already as soon as Nagisa and Kayano left. Meanwhile, Karma already noticed that Manami was already uneasy so he walked closer to her as he suggested that they visit the newly opened Science and Art Museum. Manami gladly agreed to his suggestion.

"Okuda-san, you shouldn't be nervous. We're on a date but just think of it like we're hanging out like always," Karma said in order to snap Manami out of her nervousness. Manami nodded and was glad that Karma snapped her out of it.

"Let's go to the museum, then." Manami replied with a smile enthusiasm that overcame her nervousness. Karma smiled back at her as they entered went to their destination.

Upon arrival, Manami's eyes glistened with excitement as she stared at the displays in the museum. Together, they strolled and enjoyed their time there. Even if Karma doesn't like going to museums, he suggested that they go there since he knew very well that Manami once mentioned before that she wants to go there.

" _She seemed no longer nervous at all_ ," Karma thought as he looked at Manami who was standing close to him.

After a little more time exploring the museum, they decided to go to their next destination.

"I-I want to go to an amusement park," Manami suggested.

"Really?"

"Y-yeah"

With that, they rode a taxi and after a few minutes, they reached the amusement park. As soon as they arrived, Karma suggested that Manami should wait for him at one of the park benches while he buys them tickets for the rides. Manami agreed and waited for Karma.

"Here are the tickets!" Karma said as he approached her. Manami smiled, knowing that Karma likes this place. They enjoyed themselves by riding the roller coaster, bump cars, ferris wheel, and many more. They even bought snacks and played games. Karma gave Manami a huge white teddy bear as his price for winning a shooting game. Afterwards, they sat for a while in the park bench after walking.

"Karma-kun, I want you to have this," Manami said as she gave him a small happy face key chain.

"Huh? What for?" Karma asked as he accepted Manami's gift.

"I-It's a thank you gift for asking me out a-and for spending the time with me at the museum. I know you find museums b-boring b-but you still chose that place because y-you knew I wanted to go there. So, thank you so much," Manami replied as she blushed heavily, her head bent down.

"Thanks," Karma said as he blushed too. But he regained his composure quickly as he reached out for Manami's hand and stood up. "Well, let's have dinner now, shall we?"

Manami just nodded and stood up and held Karma's hand. She then smiled, knowing that their date is going very well.

They went to an Italian fine dine restaurant and enjoyed the food, the music, and the coziness of the place. They talked about a lot of stuff and they seemed comfortable with each other. After a while, Manami excused herself to go to the rest room and mentioned that she needs to talk to her mother over the phone. When Karma's alone at the table, he went to the tall flower box decorated neatly in the restaurant just near their table and caught Fuwa, Rio, Okajima, Maehara, Kayano, and Nagisa hiding behind it.

"How long do you plan to hide behind that flower box?" Karma asked, his voice sending chills to the spines of his classmates. The group gasped upon realizing that they were caught.

"Busted!" Fuwa announced.

"Karma! What a surprise!" Rio said, trying to act not guilty.

"Why are you following us?" Karma asked with a sharp look on his eye. "And why did you two joined them?" Karma added another question intended to Nagisa and Kayano.

"Sorry Karma. After we all left, they spotted us and asked us if you're going on a date," Nagisa replied and apologized.

"Yeah. Before we could make excuses, they dragged as along with them," Kayano replied.

"No need for apologies. I bet these people blackmailed you," Karma said. Nagisa and Kayano nodded. Earlier, Kayano and Nagisa were walking and holding hands when they were caught by the group and Rio threatened them that if they didn't cooperate with them in spying on Karma and Manami, they'll send Okajima's picture of the two holding each other's hand to Koro-sensei and Bitch-sensei.

"Guess we're out of here now. Enjoy your date!" Nagisa and Kayano said as they said good bye to Karma. The two went out of the restaurant.

"Well, I have things to do, so bye now!" Okajima said as he stood up.

"Not so fast, you perv. Hand me over the pictures you took." Karma replied with such a threatening tone. Okajima didn't hesitate to give them, knowing that his life was on the line now.

"And why do you want to spy on us?" There was silence. Then Karma smirked and easily blackmailed them all which was really effective. Fuwa wants to have some inspiration for the manga that she's making since its theme is romance so she decided to watch Karma and Manami's date. Rio wants to be updated with Karma and Manami's love team developments, Okajima wants tp have pictures of Manami's transformation, claiming that Manami was more beautiful when her hair is down, no glasses, and wearing a dress, while Maehara wants to observe them dating so that he can use it in dating other girls.

"You better get out of here before Okuda-san returns. I don't want this date to be messed up," Karma ordered. The group followed immediately and left the restaurant, fearing that Karma might threaten them more if they continued spying on them. They even promised not to tell anyone about their date.

When Manami arrived, they decided to went home. While they were walking, they saw fireworks in the night sky. It was really magnificent as they stopped to watch it. While Manami was starring at the colors exploding at the sky, Karma handed her a gift.

"Okuda-san, this is for you."

"What's this?"

"Just open it at home," Karma said as he chuckled.

Karma was caught off guard by the next moment. Manami hugged her tightly and kissed him on the cheek. Both of them blushing and smiling as they enjoyed their time together. They continued walking while casually talking to each other. When they were near Manami's house, Manami said her thanks to Karma.

"Karma-kun, th-thank you for asking me out. I'm glad that you're my first date."

"Yeah. I've had lots of fun. Thank you."

With that, Manami entered her house and waved good bye at Karma. When she went in her room, she opened Karma's gift. It was a diary and a fountain pen. There's a note on it, " _Write important events in your life here just like our first date. And we'll read them as we grow old together._ " Manami blushed and chuckled as she discovered Karma's romantic side.

Before going to sleep, Karma remembered the events that they had on their first date. He smiled as he remembered the sweet moments they had. Unknown to him, Manami was also remembering the events on their first date.

"So this is the thing they called Love," Karma said as he closed his eyes to have sweet dreams.


End file.
